Hello There, Little Girl
by FudgeLeo
Summary: A glimpse into the beginning of a beautiful relationship... Originally a Tulie one-shot, now a series of how we got to that night!
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Friday Night Lights or any of the characters... Unfortun ately.**

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The party was boring.

Tim Riggins, however, was not. He'd decided to make a fool of himself early in the night by giving an impromptu strip show in the lounge room of the gracious, drunk host. The girls from Dillon High had never screamed so much in their life as Tim's rock hard body came into their sight.

He hadn't had as much to drink as people would've thought. The hour and a half that he had been at the party was all taken up by watching a little blonde on the other side of the room, her fringe falling into her eyes as she looked around as though she were bored. He had thought his 'Chippendale' performance would've made her smile, but he didn't see her look up once as the crowd had gathered around him.

Julie Taylor was sitting unimpressed in the corner of the room. She was annoyed. Lois had dragged her away from her new book and she'd rather be curled up on her bed, reading and listening to the rain outside. She refused to look over at Tim. They had been playing a little staring game for over four months now and she could barely stand the tension of standing in the same room as him. She swore she could feel his eyes drilling into her.

The worst pain would come if she looked over, the thought of seeing him _again_ with a bunch of cheerleaders surrounding him and touching his skin would make her blood boil and she just knew she'd storm out.

She'd never felt like this with Matt. They would stutter and share sweet, innocent kisses and she felt special. But with Tim Riggins, the very thought of him brushing his skin against hers for a second would have her skin flushed and breathing ragged. She stood up suddenly, caught sight of Tim, cowboy hat placed firmly on his head, with his lady friends and rushed out of the house.

'Don't look back.'

She slowed down when she got to the old tree out the front of the house. An old tyre swing hung off of a massive branch and she put both hands on the two support ropes.

She sighed heavily.

'This is so wrong,' she thought to herself. 'He is _not_ the one for you. He's just some stupid boy who makes you a little crazy. Mom explained all of this, remember? You're a teenager, your hormones are going crazy and any cute boy will get you going.'

She shook her head and scoffed to herself.

'Liar.'

He would stalk behind her in the hallways of school sometimes. She would always know he was there, that confident stride only he could pull off as she found it difficult to not trip over her own feet at the warm feeling she got up and down her back at his heavy stare. Then there were the football games. He would make some tricky move, pull his helmet off and smirk right at her. Julie thought he was just being a typical boy, dangling what she'd never have in front of her face.

She knew he was serious once he'd glare at any guy looking her way. She would send him as mean a look as she could possibly muster but his mouth would simply turn into a half-smile and she would storm off, trying as hard as she could to be mad at him.

Then there was the night that she had to put on her 'Coaches Daughter' cover and go to one of the football team's barbeques. She was the only girl from high school there and had sat with her mom in the freezing winter air. She remembered pulling her jacket tighter around her body, desperately trying to create some warmth when from out of nowhere a thick hooded sweater had fallen into her lap. She looked up just in time to see Tim turn around and walk back to his teammates. The smell of his aftershave would never leave her senses after she pulled it on.

But he'd never made a proper move.

Until now.

Julie's mouth opened in a soft gasp that never left her mouth as two bronzed arms came up around her own and held her gently against the rope. A hard chest rested against her back and a heavy, warm feeling settled somewhere down below her body.

"You run like a girl, Julie Taylor," Tim's rough voice came out against her ear, making her eyelids flutter against her cheeks and her body relax but her heart was beating frantically.

Her voice came out tiny and panicked, "Th-...that might be because I _am_ a girl, Tim. What are you doing out here, shouldn't you be thrusting your hips at some cheerleaders so they'll tuck money into your jeans?"

He smiled against her cheek, his lips grazing at the flushed skin.

"You jealous, Jules?"

She laughed nastily, ripping her hands out from under his and turning around in his arms. "Jealous of what, Tim? The blonde bimbos that follow you around, hoping you might throw a glance their way? No way, I have better things to do with my time than run after a bunch of bonehead footballers."

He grinned again, looking down at the young girl trapped between his arms. "You look good tonight. You should wear those jeans more often."

"Please Tim, do not try and charm me. It won't work; I'm not your type. Your type being dumb and easy, if you were wondering."

"Ah Julie Taylor, you know those girls have nothing on you. Imagine the scandal we could create. The coach's daughter and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks." He smirked again, inching closer to her warm body.

She huffed and rolled her eyes, "Please Tim, that sounds like the makings of a bad movie. I wouldn't even be here if I didn't have to, I'm just here for moral support and I don't appreciate what was supposed to be a peaceful night between myself and a good book to be ruined further by a bunch of girls drooling all over you. It's disgusting."

Tim's large hands smoothed over the denim fabric covering her butt and came to rest at the back of her thighs. Julie's eyes widened as he tightened his grip on her and pulled her into his body, nuzzling his nose against her ear.

"I'm tired of watching you pine over Seven, Jules. He doesn't deserve you... doesn't know how to treat you. You're not a little girl anymore," his hot breath tickled her ear. "I'd be there for you. I know you think I only care about the rally girls, but I don't know how much longer I can go on just sitting back and watching you cry over some little boy."

Julie made some kind of noise of recognition in her throat, too caught up in the feeling of his hands running up and down the back of her thighs and his lips dragging across the shell of her ear.

"You think I don't see you, but I do. I see everything. Every glance in his direction that ends up in mine. The anger in your eyes when you see me with another girl. I mean, damn Jules I know I'm good looking but some days I feel like you're undressing me with your eyes."

Her anger bubbled then and her palm lashed out at his bicep in what she hoped would leave a bright red, shiny mark on his tan skin. He let out a masculine laugh at that, moving so that his forehead was leaning on hers and he could look directly into her eyes.

"But what I'm really thinking, Julie Taylor, is that maybe it's about time you and me started to get to know each other a little better. No distractions. Just us."

And with that, his lips touched hers.

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**First story I've written for Friday Night Lights! Hope you liked it, please read & review!**

**xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**OK, you all changed my mind for me! I'm going to be writing just a few chapters on how we came to the night where Tim & Julie _finally_ got together. Nothing too long, just moments in time. I hope you like!**

**Note: I do not own Friday Night Lights or any of the characters! **

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"Tim Riggins keeps looking over here."

Julie rolled her eyes at her best friend, "No he doesn't, Lois. We're sitting right by the window, he's looking outside."

"Well, either he's staring at you or you're just in the way of his very important window-watching."

Julie didn't bother with a reply. She knew Lois better than anyone, and she definitely knew that Lois had a crush the size of Texas on Tim Riggins and she had grown accustomed to going along with whatever thought about the much loved footballer popped into Lois' head.

Julie continued eating her sandwich while glancing around the full Dillon High cafeteria. It looked like any other normal high school lunch room, all the cliques were sitting in their designated areas: football players, rally girls, other jocks, nerds, brainiacs, the list went on. Then the random groups of kids who were just friends, no label needed.

She almost wished that she belonged to some kind of group. Sure, she loved Lois like a sister but it'd be good to have a group of friends. Between her dad giving all his attention to football and her mom listening to the problems of the whole population of the high school every day, Julie wasn't really feeling like she had anyone to talk to at home or at school.

But when Julie really thought about it, it wasn't as though she'd really ever made an effort to venture out of her comfort zone. The thought of all the girls she knew who spent their days and nights talking about the football players made her sick. It was probably from being surrounded by some form of sport her entire life.

Matt was a whole other story. She'd never fallen for any boy as she had with him and it felt as though someone had decided to rip her heart out and put it in a food processor, even though she was mostly to blame.

Her eyes wandered back to the footballers on the other side of the room and she found herself looking straight into a pair of green, mischievous eyes.

Julie sat up straighter and felt her cheeks flush as she realised Tim was looking straight back at her. His eyebrow cocked in amusement, creating a solid form of embarrassment in Julie as she slammed her sandwich down and faced Lois again.

'Oh god, I bet I have something on my face. Why must you curse me cruel world!' She pulled out her cell from her bag and attempted to make out her reflection on it. 'Dammit, why am I the type of girl to _not_ carry a compact around in my bag!'

But Julie soon realised there wasn't anything on her face and threw the phone back into her bag. With a huff she turned back to look at Tim again but found him talking to one of his football friends.

Tim Riggins looking at Julie Taylor made no sense. She'd hardly spoken to him much at all, even though he'd lived with her family for a short period of time. But he had certainly never looked at her like that in all the times she had been around him.

She continued her game of turning her head slightly to the left in an attempt to see him in her peripheral vision as the minutes of her lunch hour dragged by, until two hands slamming down at the table where she sat shocked her out of her thoughts. She turned to glare at the culprit who was stopping her from the only exciting part of her whole school week so far, and found one of the schools top basketball players grinning down at her.

"Hey Julie," Jackson McGuire spoke smoothly, falling swiftly into the seat beside her. "Feels like forever since we've spoken."

'Was he kidding?'

"Uh, yeah Jackson, that might be because you've never actually spoken to me before," Julie could feel her lips pull into a forced, tight smile. She was sure her eyes should have been screaming at him something along the lines of, 'Away, strange boy!'

"Sure we have!" He brushed her comment aside quickly and turned so his body was facing her. "I heard about you and Seven. Too bad, really. You guys made a great couple."

Julie heard Lois cough beside her, obviously trying to cover her laughter at the scene taking place before her.

"Well thank you, that's really kind." She put on a bright smile even her mother would be proud of. "But it's been a good few months since it's happened. A good 5... 6 months. I'm fine."

Jackson's smirk grew wider and Julie felt like he was looking at her as though she was his last meal, "That's just what I wanted to hear! Y'know I was thinking, you and me; we would be just one hell of an 'it couple'. Seeing you wearing my numbers on the sidelines and cheering me on, it'd be a real dream come true."

Julie opened her mouth to let him know, in her own words, exactly what she thought of his dream when another voice came into the conversation. A masculine voice that Julie was not used to hearing.

"I don't think there's a real good chance of that happening, McGuire." Tim drawled out, as Julie felt him place his hand firmly on the back of her chair. "Jules may be innocent, but she's not stupid."

Jackson's eyes narrowed at the burly footballer, looking as though he wanted to start something but would know well enough that getting into a fight with Tim Riggins would have the whole of the Dillon Panthers football team running at him.

"Well, I uh... I just thought she could use the company, you know. About time she took notice of the other guys around here, don't you think?"

Julie flashed her eyes at Jacksons, then back down at the table. If there was anything Julie hated, it was the wrong kind of attention from the _wrong_ kind of guy!

Tim stayed silent and she could imagine the glare he would be giving the boy next to her.

When Jackson finally realised that he wasn't going to be leaving the table with a date he stood up and kicked his chair in, nodding his head at Julie. "It was good talking to you again, Julie"

And with that he stalked off, the spring in his step having disappeared.

Julie let out a breath that she hadn't realised she was holding in.

"Here's a tip, Taylor. Next time a guy starts up a conversation with you but can't rip his eyes away from your chest, tell him to walk away."

Julie ripped her head around angrily to look him in the eye, "Oh please, Tim. You've spent your whole life either looking at a football or staring down a girl's top."

Tim leant down to look in her eye, "You've never thrown yourself all over the jocks in this school, kid. Don't start acting like a rally girl now."

Julie sat in her seat, feeling strangely as though she'd just been scolded by her mother for stealing a cookie when she was five and she did not like it.

"I don't need you to watch over me, Tim," she growled back. "I've been doing just fine looking after myself so far."

Tim swung back to walk towards his table before shaking his head and running his hand through his long hair.

He turned to face her again.

"Coach is too busy paying attention to what's going on with his players and the games coming up and your mom spends all her time at the school, listening to everyone else bitch and moan about their life. If neither of them are makin' sure that you're hanging around with the right type of guy, then I will."

Julie sat in a stunned, irritated silence.

"Oh and while we're on the topic, I only look down a girl's shirt if I've been invited too," Tim smirked, his eyes scanning Julie up and down before turning away.

The table sat in silence.

"I _told_ you Tim Riggins was looking at you," Lois sing-songed under her breath.

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**Let me know what you think!**

**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own ANYTHING to do with Friday Night Lights!**

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Julie sighed, falling back against her locker with her eyes closed. She'd had a long, hard day and it was only lunch time.

It'd been 3 weeks since her encounter with Tim Riggins. Not that she was counting or anything.

She hadn't seen him much over the weeks, only brief flashes of light brown hair, golden skin and laughing eyes. She felt nauseous every time it happened, her heart feeling as though it was coming up in her throat and she'd stall slightly, her whole body became still. She would try to look anywhere but him and failed miserably each time.

Lois hadn't been able to shut up about him. Julie was so wound up after listening to the 'star-crossed lovers' speech her good friend would reel off at a drop of a hat that she finally snapped, leaving Lois to sit in her seat, stunned at how emotional Julie was when it came to the fullback.

She couldn't stop thinking about him. She'd spent so long not even paying attention to him, not caring about his good looks and rolling her eyes whenever the rally girls giggled and fell against each other as he walked through the school. She almost felt stupid, childish even, that she had only now opened her eyes to him and saw him in a new light.

She didn't like that he could look _through_ her. Knew how alone she felt at times, even when she was surrounded by a large crowd. She always passed him off to be quite dim, his mind limited to beer, girls and football.

_"Coach is too busy paying attention to what's going on with his players and the games coming up and your mom spends all her time at the school, listening to everyone else bitch and moan about their life. If neither of them are makin' sure that you're hanging around with the right type of guy, then I will."_

Tim's words hadn't left her mind, his voice doing circles in her head.

* * *

Tim Riggins did not enjoy school. He didn't like having to sit still in a cramped and uncomfortable chair all day. His muscles were aching by lunch and he couldn't wait for practice, knowing very well that a few good stretches and taking out some guys on the field would help him to remember why he even bothered turning up. But he also didn't think Coach would appreciate him disappearing from another training session after him and Street's rendezvous to Mexico.

Tim walked with his friends, not paying much attention to the conversation that flowed around him. His eyes flashed further down the hall, an almost natural instinct for him to now know wherever Julie Taylor was. She was leaning on her locker, her back arched against it and eyes closed.

He barely registered to stop, the guys pausing in the hall to talk football with a few of the other players. Tim knew it was nothing unusual for him to zone out during a conversation and the others wouldn't think anything of it.

He moved him arm up, holding his body against the cold metal of a locker and simply watched the blonde as he felt his lips curl into a smirk. He contemplated walking over there and giving her a scare while she was off in her little world, but knew better than to go and hassle the Coach's daughter in the public eye.

When he had seen that dick McGuire trying to talk her into going on a date with him, Tim had almost socked him one in the nose. He didn't quite understand why he had reacted that way, only knowing that looking over in that moment and seeing her eyes on him had almost made him stalk over to where she was seated and claim her as his in front of the whole school.

There was something inside of Tim that knew Coach would kick him if off the team if he was thinking about even touching his daughter. But Coach would actually _kill _him if he knew of the thoughts that crossed Tim's mind at night when all that ran through his mind were the things he would do with Coach's daughter between the sheets on his bed. Or against his wall... Or on top of the bench in the kitchen...

* * *

"H-hey Julie..."

Julie opened her eyes quickly and turned her head to the right. Matt stood there, shuffling his feet and apparently not knowing whether to look at Julie or the floor.

"Um hi Matt. How are you doing?"

He flashed a quick, sincere smile almost as though he didn't expect such a friendly greeting, "I'm good. Yeah, goin' real good. How's, um, how's Gracie going?"

Julie inwardly cringed. She did not want to be having a conversation with her ex-boyfriend about her baby sister.

"Gracie is doing really well," she said shortly.

It wasn't as though she didn't like Matt or anything; she just didn't see them becoming close friends in the near future.

Matt looked around the hallway. He caught eyes with Tim, who was eyeing them both off and looking severely unhappy for reasons unknown to the quarterback.

"I ahh... I wanted to ask you a favor, actually..."

Julie met his eyes, not knowing in the slightest what he was going to ask of her.

"Um sure, what's up?"

"I was wondering, just if it's okay with you, if we could maybe start studying together again. I know we only did it when we were, umm, together and all, but my grades aren't lookin' so good and I need to keep up with school if I want to stay on the team..." Matt rambled, looking at Julie expectantly.

Julie stalled, opening and closing her mouth. She looked around, trying to think of something to say before she got distracted by the golden brown, muscled arm being shown off in a Panthers shirt. Scanning her way up the torso, she locked eyes with Tim.

With a heated look thrown her way by the fullback, Julie continued to stare the other way and spoke with her eyes averted, "Matt I think it might be better if you found someone else to help you," she turned to meet his eyes. "It's just that I have dance, I need to look after Gracie because Mom and Dad are so busy and I help out in the library now too. So, y'know, I barely get time to study as it is."

Looking to the floor and then his eyes, "I'm sorry, it's nothing personal."

Matt shook his head, looking away then back at her face, "You know what Julie, I had _nothing_ to do with what went wrong between us. You were the one who ran after the next guy to look your way."

He walked off angrily, leaving Julie to stand glued to the ground.

She looked around, praying to God that no one had heard the exchange. Biting her lip in anguish, she tried to hold back her tears. She knew more than anyone how guilty she felt about trying to be with the Swede while she was still seeing Matt, but nothing ever happened. She wished her whole relationship with Matt had never happened, she could still be living happily by not paying any attention to a guy. Ever. It didn't make the situation any better that she had to put up with the daily death glares from other girls who would've done anything to be with Matt.

'I deserved that,' she thought sadly.

"Why is it that I always catch you talking to boys, Jules?" a happy voice asked.

Julie turned and met Tim's eyes, hoping that she could play over her sadness. She began to open her mouth in reply but was cut off quickly.

"What did he say?" Tim bit out, holding back his anger at seeing the tears in the eyes of the girl in front of him.

"Just the truth."

He smirked slightly, looking over her face as if searching for some answers, "Unless he mentioned that he's the biggest idiot in Dillon for letting you walk away from him, then he's lying, kid."

Julie smiled gently up at him, "Why do you keep trying to be a part of my life, Riggins?"

"Because I'm just one hell of an upstanding, caring citizen, Jules. Really!" Tim grinned, standing up straight so that he towered over her. "And, just between you and me..."

He leaned forward and brushed her hair off of her face, "I just want to get in your pants." He wagged his eyebrows at her cheekily.

"TIM RIGGINS! Oh my god, you are _such _a pig!" Julie squealed, a shocked grin on her face.

He laughed at the soft blush growing on her cheeks and hooked his arm around her neck, pulling her comfortably against his body and dropped a kiss onto the top of her head.

"Why are you laughing? I'm sure as hell not joking around," he grinned, keeping his arm around her. "Hey, just how angry do you think Coach would get if you turned up at practice wearing my jersey?"

Julie rolled her eyes, ignoring the tingly feeling she got whenever Tim touched her, "He would hunt you down and _murder_ you, Tim..."

They walked together, lost in their own world and didn't notice the curious looks that they were receiving from the rest of the school.

And they _definitely_ did not see the eyes of of the school guidance counselor following them as they disappeared into the crowd.

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**Ahh, I hope you all liked it! It was a bit of a filler chapter, I wanted to show the more friendly relationship between them so the connection they have in the first chapter is better understood.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! It means a lot and the encouragement I get from all of you is amazing =)**

**xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own the show or the characters, NOTHING!**

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The only sound was some country song playing on the radio. The silence between the two in the old truck was comfortable, but they both felt an odd pressure. The weight of something that was growing between the two pushing down on them to the point where it was almost painful.

Julie shifted her eyes to the left, sneaking a quick look at the tall, tanned god next to her. Tim was driving along at a surprisingly steady pace, although even with him driving slowly they were almost at the Taylors' house, tapping his fingers to the song absentmindedly.

"So, um, sorry that Dad asked you to drop me home. I told him I could've just caught the bus or something, but you know him..." Julie trailed off.

Tim quirked his mouth into a smirk, turning his head quickly to give her a look that would make most girls fall to their knees, "We've been over this, Jules. It's fine. Besides, I feel honoured. I thought Coach would rather quit than let some good for nothing kid like me drive his precious daughter home."

He grinned at her, knowing she would take offence at the words. He got what he wanted, Julie rolling her eyes and giving him a weak punch on the arm.

They both sat back in the silence once again. Julie's mind was replaying last night's events in her head, which had been going on since the confrontation between mother and daughter.

* * *

"_Tim Riggins, Julie. I'd really, really like to know what you were doing strutting around the school underneath his arm?" Tami Taylor shouted as Julie had left the bathroom from taking her shower._

_She opened her mouth, ready for a reply but was cut off once again._

"_You know what, no. Nothing you say is going to be a good reason for that. Do you think I want my daughter being seen in a position with a boy like that? I know he has a good heart Julie, I do. But that does not help with the reputation he already has. I've had so many girls coming into my office to cry their eyes out about one boy. One boy, Julie, do you want to take a guess at who that is?"_

_Julie raised an eyebrow and fought the smile that was pulling at her lips, "Umm, Tim?"_

"_Yes, Julie. Tim Riggins has been the number one reason for the long list of crying girls in my office. Not 'I'm being bullied, my grades aren't good enough, my boyfriend wants me to have sex.' No, it's all about Tim and his great reputation of loving and leaving girls."_

_Julie stood up a little straighter and cut her mother off from her rant, feeling slightly defensive over the attack on the footballer._

"_Mom, Tim was being a friend. Really. Matt came up to me in the halls and said some things that got me upset. Tim saw it all happen and was trying to cheer me up. He's a good guy. I mean, he was staying with us for long enough I thought you would've figured that out when he was here. You've seen him with Gracie, and he was always helping out. He's a good guy."_

_Julie gave her mother a pleading look and got an unimpressed one in return. She knew very well just how believable she would have to be before her mother would stop interrogating her._

"_And nothing is happening between us," Julie knew she was lying to both her mother and herself. "What would he see in me anyway? And he knows Dad would murder him if he even glanced the wrong way in my direction. Stop stressing."_

_Tami sighed and nodded her head, giving in to her eldest daughter. "Okay Honey, I believe you. I just don't want to see you hurt again. You're a teenager, you're going through lots of different emotions and it'd be perfectly natural if you had a crush on Tim, but I just know you would regret it in the long run. You're right, he is a good kid at heart but he doesn't know what he's doing when it comes to girls."_

_Julie nodded her head encouragingly at her mother, praying that she wouldn't see through her lies._

_

* * *

_

Tim was watching Julie from the corner of his eye as her face blanked out, her mind obviously on other matters.

He really was surprised when Coach had asked him to take Julie home when even he knew he couldn't trust himself around her. He hated the thought of having a stupid crush on a girl he shouldn't even be paying attention to. He had tried flirting with the other girls in school, letting them rub up against him as they used to but nothing would get the thought of the curvy little blonde with the wide eyes out of his mind.

They were technically friends now, so the stares in the hallways had begun to ease a little when they would see each other and walk together for a little bit of the way to their next class. Tim knew he had it easy – if any person questioned what he was doing with the little Taylor he could send them running with one look, but he knew Julie hadn't had it that easy.

He'd heard the whispers and nasty gossip floating around the school. It didn't take long for rumours to start in a small town and Tim felt bad that Julie had gotten dragged into the latest stories of him and his long line of conquests, but she stood firm in school and walked with her head high, even if the rally girls would throw something insulting her way.

Tim was just leaving the changing rooms when he was confronted by Coach Taylor.

"_Riggins, I got a favour to ask." Coach has stated, leaning against the doorway and giving the fullback his usual penetrating glare._

_Tim nodded, "Sure, coach." Tim was still trying to get back in his good books and was willing to do just about anything to make sure he stayed in them._

"_They've just sprung a meeting on me with the Principal, and the wife has some appointments for Gracie that she left early for. I don't want Julie hanging around the school when even the library is closed. You mind givin' her a lift home for me, son?"_

_Tim stood for a moment, slightly shocked at the request, "Uh yeah, sure that's no problem Coach. I'll go find her now."_

Coach had given him a brief, passing smile and Tim had set off to find Julie. She'd been leaning against her father's car, reading a book when Tim had found her. The brief show of excitement in her eyes when he told her to get in his car in a playful tone hadn't gone past him and he felt a small sense of pride, liking that she felt that way about spending even a small amount of time with him.

When Julie had situated herself in his car, he looked over and saw her sitting nervously, pulling at the seatbelt and shifting in her seat. He nudged her knee with his hand, grinning at her with a raised brow. She was mostly quiet, only sometimes humming along to the songs on the radio or making small talk.

"Your mom sure has been giving me the third degree about my intentions with you, Jules" Tim smirked, turning his head to look at her.

Julie blanched, a horrified look coming over her features, "Are you serious, Tim? Oh my god, she is so embarrassing! I told her nothing was going on..." She trailed off, hands to her face.

Tim stifled a laugh, "Yeah? What exactly isn't going on, Julie?"

"Um well, Mom may have seen us together..." She trailed off, her cheeks turning bright red. "She saw us walking down the hall together with your arm around me and she wanted to talk the other night about all the reasons why I shouldn't be starting anything with you."

Tim pulled up into the Taylors' driveway and parked the car. He sent a heated smirk her way and shifted closer, sliding his large body to her side and leant over her.

"Jules..." He breathed, leaning closer to her face and nudging his nose against hers.

"Y-yeah..." Julie stammered, fighting back her shaky breaths as he ran his hand through her hair and searched her eyes.

Tim brushed his cheek against hers and watched her blush as he slid his large hand over her waist, pulling her up against his chest.

His warm breath against her ear and she shivered, arching up against him.

"Your mom just pulled up."

Tim grinned, opening her door with his left hand and gesturing her out of the car.

Julie glared, flustered from his touches.

"Don't forget to tell your mom that we're not starting anything...yet." He smiled, smacking her on her butt as she crawled out of the car.

"Well no Tim, no one will suspect a thing now!" Julie rolled her eyes and slammed the door on his laughing face.

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**I'm sorry it took forever for an update! My laptop decided to commit suicide and I had to get a new one, dammit =(**

**But I hope you all like this chapter. I'm working on an actual one-shot as well which should hopefully be up soon. **

**Let me know what you think!**

**xx**


	5. Chapter 5

I own nothing.

* * *

There was something almost calming about the sounds of football practise. The yelling, whistle blowing, heavy breathing and the violent sound of bodies hitting each other as hard as possible was almost chaotic, but Julie Taylor was almost numb to the sound these days. She normally disliked the sport and anything to do with the reason why her father had missed out on time spent with his small family, but the times when she would sit up in the bleachers to lay back and listen she enjoyed thoroughly.

It was an unusually hot day in Dillon. Sure, she was used to the weather by now but the humidity of that day had already gotten to her by the time she was about to leave for school. Julie ran back to her room at the last minute, ripping off her long pants and pulling on a pair of denim shorts to match her tank top. She would normally avoid such an outfit, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention to herself.

Julie lifted her head from the cold metal of the bleachers, her eyes lowering from the bright blue sky to watch the usual afternoon Panthers practise. The football field was a blur of white and blue, the fast-paced workout her Dad was putting the players through made her almost feel sorry for them. She would've passed out from heat exhaustion by now. Skimming her way through the guys on the field, she found herself watching number 33. Of course. These days it was natural, almost second nature to find herself watching Riggins.

His uniform was tight on what she knew was a rock hard body. He pulled his helmet off and shook his hair out his face, she almost laughed at how much the scene was like a commercial for hair shampoo or something similar. Julie heard the whistle blow, signalling a 10 minute break so the team could hydrate and stretch. They all grouped off, most of them chatting between each other.

"Julie!"

She whipped her head around and saw her father at the bottom of the bleachers, signalling for her to come down. Taking the stairs two at a time, she came to a stop in front of him.

"What are you doing up there? I thought you were going home with your mother." Coach Taylor asked, looking down at his daughter.

Julie put her hand up over her eyes, shielding them from the harsh glare of the Texan sun. "Mom had to take Gracie to that appointment, so I was just going to wait for you to finish up. I've already finished all my homework in the library during last period, so I don't need to go home in any hurry."

Coach chewed his gum thoughtfully, giving her his typical analysis with those knowing eyes of his. "Well okay, you just gonna sit on the bleachers and watch? If you get bored you can fill up the water cups."

Julie snorted a laugh, "Yeah, alright. I'll play water girl for the rest of the day. Thanks Dad..."

She grinned at the coach and walked over to the refreshment table. The players had the usual assortment of water and sports drinks. Although this wasn't the most exciting of things she could think of doing during the afternoon, it was nice to be outside and not have to worry about homework or her mom finding some other chore for her to do. Tami had laid off her constant questions about Tim Riggins, and Julie was thankful for that.

She felt silly, foolish even for spending the amount of time that she did thinking about him. What was Tim doing now? Was he thinking about her? Was he with another girl? What TV shows does he like to watch? I wonder if he's having a shower?... Needless to say, her imagination would run a little wilder than usual whenever that last question came into her mind. The rumours about them had not ceased. The girls in the school didn't know whether to glare at her or stare in admiration for keeping Tim's interest for longer than a week. The guys would either be leering a _little too_ much or were scared to even glance in her direction.

It was hard for someone who liked to stand back in the shadows to be thrust into the spotlight for simply being friends with a boy. But when Julie really thought about it, she knew that the thought of Tim having a girl _friend_ was something that most people would've thought they would see when hell froze over. But she was determined to maintain their strictly friends relationship. The last thing she needed was to fall head over heels for another guy that would leave her hurting worse than the last relationship she'd had.

Julie was startled out of her thoughts by the horde of football players stampeding the refreshments. Some gave her a small smile, but most didn't even notice her in the race to get to the energy boosters.

"You playin' water wench, Jules? You should be wearing one of those little outfits that the gals in Germany do."

Julie felt herself turn pink and looked up at Tim, smirking down at her. If a girl could pick her favourite time to see Tim, it would be during a football game or practise. His helmet in his hand, he swept his long hair back from his sweaty forehead and Julie almost passed out from the beauty of that man's face. It was like a death sentence to be able to look at him, but not touch, and she cursed herself mentally to be thinking such stupid thoughts. His brown skin seemed to glow in the sun and his eyes were on hers, before giving her a full body scan, his smirk growing wider.

"Ohhhh Julie, you sure you want to be on the sidelines wearing those shorts? I get distracted by you easily enough as it is, but this is just going to be upsetting for me." He grinned, leaning down on the table as some of the played looked over with interest.

"Shut up, Tim" Julie hissed, looking around hurriedly to make sure that her dad wasn't looking at them. "It's hot out here, and you just drink your damn water. You've given me enough trouble just by being seen with you."

She hadn't spoken to him for two weeks, since the embarrassing drive home he gave her. She'd been blushing so badly from him smacking her butt that she'd run inside and pretended as though she was in desperate need for a shower, locking herself in the bathroom so her mother wouldn't see her flushed skin.

"Easy there Jules, I'm just playing," He laughed, swiping another cup of cold water. "You goin' to that party after the game on Friday?"

To be completely honest, she was hoping she wouldn't be. The Dillon parties were not her scene and she knew from past experiences that it was in her best interests to stay away from them. But the thought of sitting at home wondering who the man opposite her was talking to all night was not something that she would look forward to.

"I might. I think Lois might want to go, and I wouldn't want her to be alone." She managed to stumble out.

He looked over her face, his eyes seeming to scan over her to see if she was telling him the truth.

"Well, you let me know for sure alright? I'll give you a lift over there and make sure you get home safe too. I don't want your dad riding my ass for not looking out for you."

It was comments like that which would make her cringe, remind her of who she was and what he thought of her. The coach's daughter. But the thought of anything more between them she knew would be forbidden and her Dad would have some kind of amazing fit if he knew she was even thinking about it.

Julie looked down, staring at the grass, "It's fine, I think Lois was planning on driving and we're going to the game together. I don't want you to have to wait around for me or anything."

"Jules," Tim sighed heavily. "Just let me know." He flashed her a grin, looked her up and down once more and shook his head with a laugh. "You're gonna get me into a lot of trouble one day, kid."

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It's short, I haven't updated in forever, don't hate me! x


	6. Chapter 6

**I own nothing.**

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"If you don't tell me what's going on between you and Tim Riggins, I'm going to take all of your books and burn them."

Julie jumped at the sound of her best friend's threat, looking up from her history book. She'd been studying during a free period in the library, ignoring the glares from random girls who walked past her. She much preferred it when she wasn't on the radar of the jealous females in the high school. Not that they had anything to be jealous of, a few conversations with Tim Riggins wasn't really much to be upset about in her opinion.

"God, Lois", she held a hand to her heart, which was close to beating out of her chest. "You scared me."

Lois threw herself down into the chair opposite, and dumped her school books on the table between them, raising an eyebrow threateningly.

"I'm not kidding, Julie. I want details and I want them _now_."

"Nothing is going on. We've only spoken a handful of times and he gave me a lift home once. You know all the details already!"

Both girls spoke in aggressive whispers and ducked their heads to their books as the librarian walked past, giving them both a piercing stare.

"Whatever, I'll get the truth out of you eventually," Lois scanned her eyes around the library. "Do you realise that all the girls in here are glaring at you."

Julie brushed her bangs out of her eyes and threw her pencil down, giving up on getting any further study done.

"Thanks Lois, I realise that already and it's ridiculous because there is nothing happening between Tim and I. I guess word got around that he gave me a ride home the other day. He doesn't like me that way; he can have any girl in the school, or the whole town for that matter. He knows that the coach's daughter isn't the wisest choice."

"You should see the way he looks at you, Jules. He watches you all the time. I love you, but if you don't hook up with him and then tell me all about it, I don't think we'll be able to be friends anymore."

Julie smiled and rolled her eyes, "Believe me Lois, if anything happens, you'll be the first to hear about it."

Lois seemed satisfied with this and returned her smile. "What are you doing tonight? Do you want to go see a movie or something?"

"I'd love to, but I have to go to some stupid barbeque for the team, and you know mom won't let me out of it."

"That's okay; you'll still come to that party with me tomorrow night?" Lois started pulling her books together as the bell rang.

"Yeah, of course," Julie grabbed her books and bag, giving a final wave before walking out of the library.

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Julie took a sip of her soda and took in her surroundings, ignoring the conversation her mother was involved in next to her. She didn't _hate_ the team gatherings, but she could think of quite a few things she'd prefer to be doing instead of sitting around, listening to even more football talk.

The whole team was there, including parents and siblings. They'd all eaten and she'd taken part in some polite small talk, she was hoping that she wouldn't have to hang around for too much longer. She'd avoided Tim so far; she'd caught a glimpse of him as they were dishing out the food and she'd hidden behind her dad. Julie had realised that everyone seemed to be keeping tabs on any interaction between the two of them, and she wanted to evade being a part of any more rumours floating around the school. The team had barricaded themselves inside the house and were playing X-Box; every now and then she could hear them throwing insults at each other. Boys.

Julie stood and walked towards the house, throwing her can in the trash as she went. She's consumed at least three sodas due to her boredom and desperately needed to find the bathroom. Eventually she found her way there, did her business and studied herself in the mirror, smoothing her hair down.

She unlocked the door and gasped as someone on the other side pushed the door open.

Tim grinned as he closed the door behind him and locked it again, "Hey Jules."

"Tim, what are you doing? Let me out!"

"Calm down," he laughed. "I need to hide for a few minutes, you're stuck with me."

Julie rolled her eyes and rested against the sink, "Who exactly do you need to hide from?"

Tim rubbed his face sheepishly, trying to hide his grin. "Lyla. She's trying to hunt me down, I'm not good at dealing with girls."

"Oh please, I've seen you deal with girl's plenty of times. I think you'll do just fine," she scoffed at him.

She couldn't help but be annoyed at herself for feeling jealous of the history between Tim and the cheerleader. Julie looked him up and down, the blue jeans and Panthers jersey fit snugly on him and she nervously shifted her feet when she saw him smirking at her.

"Like what you see, Jules?"

His cocky grin made her cheeks heat up and she looked away, "Shut up, Tim. I was just wondering whether your wardrobe consists of only jeans and t-shirts."

Tim gave her a look that said he knew she was lying, and he stepped closer to her. Placing his hands on the bench either side of her, he trapped her between his arms and leant down to look in her eyes.

"You been hiding from me, kid? I don't think I've teased you in at least 2 days."

Julie pushed his shoulder, trying to free up some space between them. "Please, Tim. I don't spend all my time waiting for a guy to talk to me. I actually do stuff at school, like go to the classes."

Tim laughed, "I go to class!"

"You go to class, but only to see how many teachers you can upset and girls you can flirt with," Julie replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

Knocking on the door interrupted them, and Lyla's voice called out, "Tim? Are you in there?"

Julie and Tim stared at each other, and she raised her eyebrow and gave him a smirk of her own.

"Don't you dare, Julie," he threatened.

Julie grinned and called out, "He's in here, Lyla!"

Tim groaned, hanging his head and letting it fall on Julie's shoulder, his warm hands moving to rest on her hips. Julie bit her lip, breathing in his scent.

"Julie?" Lyle questioned. There was silence for a few moments. "What are you two doing?"

She couldn't find her voice, one small touch from Tim and she couldn't even think straight.

Tim laughed softly, his breath hot on her shoulder and then pulled away from her, "Jules was just helping me undo my jeans."

"Tim!" Julie cried, punching his arm and stomped to the door to throw it open. Lyla was looking between the two of them with suspicion etched on her face. "I wasn't helping him with anything. He's all yours!"

Julie shot Tim an amused look as she backed away, which he returned with a smirk as he pointed a finger at her, "Next time I see you, you're in trouble."

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**It only took me how many years to update? **

**x**


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